ABSTRACT
Following the discussion of the emergence of girls’ madrasas in India, the specific social and ideological background to the madrasa I did fieldwork in, its curriculum in comparison with the curriculum taught in madrasas for boys, and the future trajectories of the female graduates, I would now like to highlight and summarize my main findings. While initially I was looking for markers of emancipation, it turned out that in order to appreciate the education provided by the Madrasatul Niswan, the notion of empowerment did not prove to be helpful. The centrality of discipline adab or value education reminded of late nineteenth century reformist ideas and influenced by the informal linkages with the Tablighi Jamaat, the men in charge saw the reform (islah) of personal life as the primary educational aim. As a result, even though the young women in the Madrasatul Niswan were knowledgeable with regard to Islamic theology, the internalization of a certain discipline and values associated with adab seemed to prevent them from developing the confidence to apply the acquired knowledge outside the teaching profession. Instead, the Madrasatul Niswan appeared to aim primarily at the reproduction of a relatively closed community with its particular worldview. Moreover, the informal affiliation with the Tablighi Jamaat also ensured the reproduction of tablighi ideas, because the curriculum of the Madrasatul Niswan, and the weekly Thursday Programme in particular, emphasized the importance of cultivating certain virtues (fazail) with a view to the Hereafter over questions related to Islamic law (masail).
